u 


GIFT   OF 


Form  10.    6-05.    3,000.] 


CALIFORNIA- 


STATE   BOARD  OF   HEALTH 


BUREAU    OF     VITAL     STATISTICS 


LAW    FOR    THE 


REGISTRATION  OF 
VITAL  STATISTICS 
IN  CALIFORNIA 


SACRAMENTO: 

W.    W.    SHANNON,        -  SUPERINTENDENT   STATE   PRINTING. 

1905. 


[Form  10.    6-05.     3.000.] 


LAW  FOR  THE  REGISTRATION  OF  VITAL 
STATISTICS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

POLITICAL  CODE. 


Part  III — Of  the  Government  of  the  State. 
Title  VII     General  Police  of  the  State. 


CHAPTER  III—  REGISTRATION  OF  VITAL  STATISTICS. 

REGISTRATION  OF  BIRTHS  AND  MARRIAGES. 

§  3074.     State  bureau  of  vital  statistics.     Duty  of  registrar. 

§  3075.     Statistician,  appointment,  term  of  office  and  salary. 

§  3076.     Registry  of  marriages  performed. 

§  3077.     Registry  of  births. 

§  3078.     Duty  of  county  recorder  and  health  officer.     Report  to  state 

registrar. 

§  3079.     Fee  of  recorder  and  health  officer. 

§  3080.     State  registrar  to  prepare  blank  form  and  instructions. 
§  3081.     State  registrar  may  require  further  information. 
§  3082.     Penalty  for  failure  to  perform  duty. 
§  3083.     State  registrar  to  furnish  certified  copy  of  records,  which  is 

prima  facie  evidence. 

§  3074.    The  state  board  of  health  shall  maintain,  at  the 
city  of  Sacramento,  a  bureau  of  vital  statistics  for  the  com- 


plete and    proper    registration    of    births,    marriages     and 
deaths,  for  legal,  sanitary  and  statistical  purposes,  which  statistics. 
bureau  shall  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  secretary  of  state 
the  state  board  of  health,  who  shall  be  ex-officio  state  regis-  dugtySofar' 
trar  of  vital  statistics,  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  after  con- 
sultation with  the  state  board  of  health,  to  promulgate  and 
enforce   all  necessary   rules   and   regulations   that   may   be 
required  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this   chapter.     (As 
amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3075.    The  state  board  of  health  shall  appoint  a  com-  statisti- 
petent  statistician  to  assist  the  state  registrar  of  vital  sta-  appoint- 
tistics  and  such  clerical  and  professional  assistants  as  may  mentof- 
be  required  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  of  said 
registrar.     Said  statistician  shall  also  be  an  assistant  to  the 
secretary  of  the  state  board  of  health.     The  statistician  so 
appointed   shall  hold   office   at   the   pleasure   of  the   board 
and  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  eighteen  hundred  dol-  Term  of 
lars   payable   out   of   the   general   fund   of   the   state   from 
money  not  otherwise  appropriated  at  the  time  and  in  the 
manner  in  which  state  officers  are  paid.     The  compensation 
for  clerical  and  professional  assistants  shall  be  'fixed  by  the 

242638 


boat-d   and  shall  be   payable  from  its  fund  for   contingent 
expenses    provided    in   the    general    appropriation    act.     (As. 
^  amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

marriages^  §  3076.  All  persons  who  perform  the  marriage  ceremony 
performed,  in  this  state  shall  within  three  days  after  the  ceremony  file 
with  the  county  recorder  a  certificate  of  registry  of  the 
marriage  performed  by  them  in  such  form  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  state  registrar  which  shall  contain  among 
other  matters  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  place  and 
date  of  marriage,  sex,  race,  color,  age,  name  and  surname, 
birthplace,  residence  of  the  parties  married,  number  of  mar- 
riage and  condition  of  each,  whether  single,  widowed,  or 
divorced,  the  occupation  of  the  parties,  maiden  name  of  the 
female,  if  previously  married,  the  names  and  birthplace  of 
the  parents  of  each  and  the  maiden  name  of  the  mother  of 
each.  (As  amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

Registry  of  §  3077.  Physicians,  midwives,  nurses  and  other  persons 
assisting  at  a  birth  shall  return  in  writing  within  five  days 
thereafter  to  the  county  recorder  of  the  county  where  such 
birth  takes  place  in  such  form  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
state  registrar  a  certificate  of  registry  of  such  birth  which 
shall  contain  among  other  matters,  the  time  and  place  of 
such  birth,  name,  sex,  race  and  color  of  the  child,  the  name, 
residence,  age,  birthplace  and  occupation  of  the  parents  and 
the  maiden  name  of  the  mother,  and  whether  born  in  or  out 
of  wedlock,  and  such  other  information  as  may  be  required 
by  the  state  registrar;  provided,  however,  that  in  cities 
Local  having  a  freeholders  charter  the  health  officer  shall  act  as 
certoact?s  ^oca^  registrar  and  perform  all  the  duties  thereof.  In  case 
registrar,  the  child  is  not  named  the  recorder  or  registrar  of  such 
locality  shall  deliver  to  such  parent,  next  of  kin,  physician, 
midwife  or  other  person  furnishing  such  certificate  of  birth 
a  supplementary  blank  for  report  of  given  name,  which 
shall  be  filled  out  and  returned  as  soon  as  the  child  shall  be 
named.  In  case  there  shall  be  no  physician,  midwife,  or 
nurse  attending  at  such  birth,  then,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
Registry  of  the  parents  of  any  child  born  in  this  state  (and  if  there  be 
duty  of  no  parent  alive,  then  the  next  of  kin  of  said  child)  within 
parent.  £en  (jays  after  such  birth  to  report  in  writing  to  the  recorder 
of  the  county  or  health  officer  of  cities  having  a  freeholders 
charter  where  such  birth  takes  place,  in  such  form  as  may 
be  prescribed  by  the  state  registrar,  the  date,  place  and  resi- 
dence, name,  sex,  race,  and  color  of  such  child,  and  the 
names,  residence,  birthplace  and  age  of  the  parents,  their 
occupations,  and  the  maiden  name  of  the  mother,  and 
whether  born  in  or  out  of  wedlock,  and  such  other  informa- 
tion required  by  the  state  registrar.  (As  amended,  Stats. 
1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

county          g  3078.    It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  county  recorder  to 

ductyrof r>     receive  without  fee  or  charge  each  certificate  of  registry  of 

marriage  and  birth;  provided,  however,  that  in  cities  having 

a  freeholders  charter  the  health  officer  shall  act  as  local 


registrar  for  births,  and  shall  receive,  without  fee  or  charge. 
each  certificate  of  birth  and  enter  the  same  in  the  same  man-  officer. 
ner  as  provided  for  the  county  recorder;  to  enter  the  same 
in  separate  registers  to  be  known  as  the  "Register  of  Mar- 
riages/' and  the  "Register  of  Births,"  in  separate  columns, 
properly  headed,  the  various  facts  contained  in  the  certifi- 
cates and  the  name   and  official  or  clerical  position  of  the 
person  making  the  report.      The  recorder  or  health  officer 
must  carefully  examine  each  report,  and  register  the  same 
marriage,  or  birth  but  once,  although  it  may  be  reported  by 
different  persons.     The   certificates   shall  be  numbered  by 
him  and  entered  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  reported  to 
him.    On  or  before  the  fifth  day  of  each  month  each  recorder, 
or    health    officer,    shall    transmit    by    United    States    mail, 
carefully    inclosed    in    appropriate    envelopes    or    wrappers,  trarby 
addressed   to   the   state   registrar   at   Sacramento,    or   shall 
personally  deliver  to  him  at  his  office  in  Sacramento,  on  or 
before  the  fifth  day  of  each  month,  the  original  certificates 
of  births  and  marriages  filed  with  him  during  the  preceding  original 
month,  and  shall  accompany  said  certificates  with  a  brief  JJfJJJjf*68 
statement  of  the  number  of  such  certificates,  and  the  dates  rjagesand 
of  their  receipt.     The  state  registrar  shall  thereupon  file  niingSof. 
said  original  certificates  of  marriage  and  births,  and  cause 
the  same  to  be  separately  and  systematically  indexed.     (As 
amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3079.    For  their  services  as  required  by  section  3078  of  Fee  of 
this  code,  county  recorders,  or  health  officers  of  cities  having  and  ife^ith 
a  freeholders  charter,  shall,  in  addition  to  their  compensa-  officer- 
tion  for  the  other  duties  of  their  office,  be  allowed  by  the 
board  of  supervisors,  ten  cents  for  each  name  registered  and 
reported  to  the  state  registrar,  which  sum  shall  be  paid  out 
of  the   general  fund   of  the   county  upon  warrants  issued 
quarterly  and  signed  by  the  county  auditor  and  approved 
by   the   state   registrar,    which   warrants   shall   specify   the 
number  of  certificates  of  marriages  and  births  properly  reg- 
istered   and    filed    with    the    state    registrar.     (As    amended, 
Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3080.    The  state  registrar  shall  prepare  a  sample  form  state  regis- 
and  blank  for  use  in  registering,  recording  and  preserving  p^Vbiank 
the  reports  of  marriages  and  births,  and  shall  prepare  and  fn^uacnd 
issue    such    detailed    instructions    as    may    be    required    to  t?ons?c 
secure   the   uniform   observance   of  its   provisions   and   the 
maintenance   of   a   perfect   system   of  registration,   and   no 
other  forms  of  blanks  shall  be  used  than  those  prescribed 
by  the   state   registrar.     Printed  blanks   in   the   form   pre-  o?sptovis" 
scribed  by  the  state  registrar  for  the  registration  of  mar-  furnish 
riages  and  births   shall  be   furnished   to   each   recorder   or  bTanS! 
health   officer  by  the   board   of   supervisors   of   each   county  Recorder 
or  city  and  county  in  sufficient  quantities,  and  each  recorder  and  health 
or  health   officer  shall  furnish  without   charge   a   sufficient  fSsh° 
number  of  copies  to  each  applicant  upon  whom  is  imposed 


State  regis- 
trar may 
require 
further  in- 
formation. 


Informa- 
tion to  be 
furnished 
state  reg- 
istrar on 
demand. 


Deposition 
required 
when  facts 
are  not 
correctly 
stated. 


Corrected 
state- 
ments. 


Penalty  for 
failure  to 
perform 
duty. 


State  regis- 
trar to 
furnish 
certified 
copy  of 
records. 


the  duty  of  certifying  to  a  marriage  or  birth.  (As  amended. 
Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3081.  The  state  registrar  shall  carefully  examine  the 
certificates  of  marriages  and  births  received  monthly  from 
the  county  recorders  or  health  officers,  and  if  any  such  are 
incomplete  or  unsatisfactory,  he  shallt  require  such  further 
information  to  be  furnished  as  may  oe  necessary  to  make 
the  record  satisfactory.  All  physicians,  clergymen,  judges, 
midwives,  nurses,  parents,  or  other  informants  upon  whom 
the  duty  is  imposed  of  certifying  to  marriages  or  births, 
and  all  other  persons  having  knowledge  of  the  facts,  are 
required  to  furnish  such  information  as  they  may  possess 
regarding  any  marriage  or  birth  upon  demand  of  the  state 
registrar,  in  person  by  mail  or  through  the  local  recorder. 
Whenever  it  may  be  alleged  that  the  facts  'are  not  correctly 
stated  in  any  certificate  of  marriage  or  birth  theretofore 
registered,  the  county  recorder  shall  require  a  deposition 
under  oath  to  be  made  by  the  person  asserting  the  fact,  to 
be  supported  by  the  depositions  of  two  or  more  credible 
persons  having  knowledge  of  the  facts,  setting  forth  the 
change  necessary  to  make  the  record  correct.  Having 
received  such  depositions,  he  shall  file  them  and  shall  then 
draw  a  line  through  the  incorrect  statement  or  statements 
in  the  certificate,  without  erasing  them,  and  make  the  neces- 
sary corrections,  noting  on  the  margin  of  the  certificate  his 
authority  for  so  doing,  and  transmit  the  deposition,  attached 
to  the  original  certificate,  when  making  his  regular  monthly 
returns  to  the  state  registrar.  If  the  correction  relates  to  a 
certificate  previously  returned  to  the  state  registrar,  he  shall 
transmit  the  deposition  forthwith  to  the  state  registrar.  If 
the  correction  is  first  made  upon  the  original  certificate  on  file 
in  the  state  bureau  of  vital  statistics,  the  state  registrar  shall 
immediately  transmit  a  certified  copy  of  the  original  certifi- 
cate, corrected  as  above,  to  the  county  recorder,  who  shall 
thereupon  substitute  such  certified  copy  for  the  copy  of  the 
certificate  in  his  records.  All  such  corrections  and  marginal 
notes  referring  to  them  shall  be  legibly  written  in  ink,  type- 
written or  printed.  (As  amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3082.  Any  officer  or  person  upon  whom  a  duty  is  im- 
posed under  this  chapter  who  fails,  neglects  or  refuses  to 
perform  any  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  him  under  this 
chapter  or  by  the  instructions  and  directions  of  the  state 
registrar  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  upon 
conviction  shall  be  punished  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
misdemeanors  provided  in  the  Penal  Code.  (As  amended, 
Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

§  3083.  The  state  registrar  shall  upon  request  furnish 
any  applicant  a  certified  copy  of  the  record  of  any  marriage 
or  birth  registered  under  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  for 
the  making  and  certification  of  which  he  shall  be  entitled  to 
a  fee  of  fifty  cents  to  be  paid  by  the  applicant.  Any  such 
copy  of  the  record  of  a  marriage  or  birth  when  properly 


certified  by  the  state  registrar  to  be  a  true  copy  thereof 
shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  in  all  courts  and  places  of  the  facie 
facts  therein  stated.  For  any  search  of  the  files  and  e 
records  when  no  certified  copy  is  made,  the  state  registrar 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  fifty  cents  for  each  hour  or 
fractional  hour  of  time  of  search  to  be  paid  by  the  appli- 
cant. And  the  state  registrar  shall  keep  a  true  and  correct 
account  of  all  fees  by  him  received  under  these  provisions 
and  shall  deposit  all  fees  with  the  state  treasurer.  (As 
amended,  Stats.  1905,  Ch.  CX.) 

REGISTRATION  OF  DEATHS. 

§  3084.     (Repealed,  Stats.  -1905,  Ch.  CX.     Superseded  by 
Stats.  1905,  Chs.  CXIX  and  CCCXLVI.) 

STATUTES   1905,  CHAPTER  CXIX. 

SEC.     1.     State  bureau  of  vital  statistics. 

SEC.     2.     State  divided  into  districts  for  registration  of  deaths. 

SEC.  3.  Registrars  of  districts.  Deputy  local  registrar.  Sub- 
registrars. 

SEC.     4.     Permit  from  local  registrar  before  burial. 

SEC.     5.     Stillborn  children  registered  as  deaths. 

SEC.     6.     Certificate  of  death.     Contents. 

SEC.     7.     In  case  death  occurs  without  medical  attendance. 

SEC.     8.     Undertaker  responsible  for  certificate  of  death. 

SEC.     9.     Local  registrar  to  supply  blanks.     Duty  of  local  registrar. 

SEC.  10.  If  interment  be  made  in  district  where  death  occurred,  duty 
of  registrar. 

SEC.  11.     Duty  of  sexton  or  other  person  in  charge  of  burial  ground. 

SEC.  12.  State  registrar  to  prepare  blank  forms  for  all  registrars. 
Index  of  deaths. 

SEC.  13.     Corrections  in  certificate,  how  made. 

SEC.  14.     Fee  of  local  registrar. 

SEC.  15.     State  registrar  to  furnish  certified  copy  of  records.     Fees. 

SEC.  16.     Physicians  and  undertakers  to  register  with  local  registrar. 

§EC.  17.  Penalties  for  neglect  by  attending  physician,  undertaker, 
registrars  and  violation  of  act  by  common  carrier. 

SEC.  18.     Local  registrars  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  law. 

STATUTES  1905,  CHAPTER  CCCXLVI. 

SEC.  1.     Duties  of  city  clerk  and  recorder  in  relation  to  registration 
of  deaths,  etc. 

STATUTES  1905,  CHAPTER  CXIX.— An  act  for  the  registration 
of  deaths,  the  issuance  and  registration  of  burial  and  disin- 
terment  permits  and  the  establishment  of  registration  dis- 
tricts in  counties,  cities  and  counties,  cities  and  incorporated 
towns,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  state  bureau  of 
vital  statistics  and  prescribing  the  powers  and  duties  of 
registrars,  coroners,  physicians,  undertakers,  sextons  and 
other  persons  in  relation  to  such  registration  and  fixing 
penalties  for  the  violation  of  this  act. 

[Approved  March  18,  1905.] 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate 
and  assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

SECTION  1.     That  department  of  the  state  board  of  health  state 
known  as  the  state  bureau  of  vital  statistics  shall  provide  vitalau 
for  and  superintend  the  complete  and  proper  registration  of  statistics- 
deaths  for  legal,  sanitary  and  statistical  purposes. 


State 
divided 
into  dis- 
tricts foi* 
registra- 
tion of 
deaths. 

Registrars 
of  dis- 
tricts. 


Deputy 

local 

registrar. 


Subregis- 
trars. 


Permit 
from  local 
registrar 
before 
burial. 


Certificate 
and  return 
of  death 
filed. 

When 
death  oc- 
curs out- 
side of 
state. 


Stillborn 
children 
registered 
as  deaths. 


SEC.  2.  That  for  the  purposes  of  this  act  the  state  shall  be 
divided  into  registration  districts  as  follows :  Each  city  and 
county,  city,  and  incorporated  town,  and  each  county  exclu- 
sive of  the  portion  included  within  cities  and  incorporated 
towns,  shall  constitute  a  primary  registration  district. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  recorder  of  each  city  and  county,  county, 
and  the  clerk  of  each  city  or  incorporated  town,  shall  be 
the  local  registrar  in  and  for  such  primary  registration 
district  and  shall  perform  all  such  duties  of  local  registrar 
as  hereinafter  provided;  provided  however,  that  in  cities 
having  a  freeholders  charter  the  health  officer  shall  act  as 
local  registrar  and  perform  all  the  duties  thereof.  Each  local 
registrar  shall  immediately  appoint  in  writing,  a  deputy 
who  shall  be  authorized  to  act  in  his  stead  in  case  of  absence, 
death,  illness  or  disability  and  when  it  may  appear  neces- 
sary for  the  convenience  of  the  people  in  any  county,  the 
local  registrar  is  hereby  authorized  with  the  approval  of 
the  state  registrar  of  vital  statistics  to  appoint  one  or  more 
proper  and  competent  persons  to  act  as  subregistrars,  who 
shall  be  authorized  to  receive  certificates  of  death  and  to 
issue  burial  permits  or  removal  permits  in  and  for  such 
portions  of  the  county  as  may  be  designated.  Each  subreg- 
istrar  shall  note  in  legible  writing  over  his  signature  the 
date  each  certificate  of  death  was  filed,  and  shall  forthwith 
forward  the  certificate  to  the  local  registrar  of  the  county, 
and  in  all  cases  before  the  eighth  day  of  the  following 
month;  provided,  that  all  subregistrars  shall  be  subject  to 
the  supervision  and  control  of  the  state  registrar  of  vital 
statistics. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  body  or  remains  of  no  person  whose 
death  occurs  in  the  state  shall  be  interred,  deposited  in  a 
vault,  grave  or  tomb,  cremated,  disinterred  or  otherwise 
disposed  of,  or  removed  from  or  into  any  registration  dis- 
trict until  a  permit  for  burial,  disinterment  or  removal 
shall  have  been  properly  issued  by  the  registrar  of  the  regis- 
tration district  in  which  the  death  occurs.  And  no  such 
burial  or  removal  permit  shall  be  issued  by  any  registrar 
until  a  complete  and  satisfactory  certificate  and  return  of 
the  death  has  been  filed  with  him,  as  hereinafter  required; 
provided  that  in  case  of  any  death  outside  of  the 
state,  where  the  body  is  accompanied  by  a  removal  or 
transit  permit  issued  in  accordance  with  the  law  and  the 
health  regulations  in  force  where  the  death  occurred,  such 
removal  or  transit  permit  shall  be  accepted  as  of  the  same 
authority  as  a  permit 'from  the  local  registrar  when  such 
removal  or  transit  permit  shall  have  indorsed  thereon  the 
written  approval  of  the  state  registrar  of  vital  statistics,  or 
when  said  state  registrar  otherwise  officially  notifies  the  local 
registrar  of  his  approval. 

SEC.  5.  Stillborn  children,  or  those  dead  at  birth,  shall  be 
registered  as  deaths  under  this  act,  and  a  certificate  of  death 
and  burial  or  removal  permit  in  usual  form  shall  be  required. 
The  medical  certificate  of  cause  of  death  shall  be  signed  by 


the  attending  physician  or  midwife,  and  shall  state  the  cause 
of  death  as  "stillborn,"  with  the  cause  of  the  stillbirth,  if 
known,  whether  a  premature  birth,  and,  if  born  prematurely, 
the  period  of  utero-gestation  in  months,  if  known. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  certificate  of  death  shall  be  of  the  stand- 
ard  form  recommended  by  the  United  States  Census  Office 
and  the  American  Public  Health  Association,  and  shall  con- 
tain the  following  items: 

(1)  Place  of  death,  including  state,  county,  township  or  c 
town,  city  or  village.    If  in  a  city,  the  ward,  street,  and  house 
number.     If  in  a  hospital  or  other  institution,  the  name  of 
the  same  to  be  given  instead  of  the  street  and  house  number. 

(2)  Full  name   of  decedent.     If  an   unnamed   child  the 
surname,  preceded  by  "unnamed." 

(3)  Sex. 

(4)  Color  or  race— as  white,  black   (negro  or  negro  de- 
scent), Indian,  Chinese,  Japanese,  or  other. 

(5)  Conjugal  condition— as  single,  married,  widowed,  or 
divorced. 

(6)  Date  of  birth,  including  the  year,  month,  and  day. 

(7)  Age,  in  years,  months,  and  days. 

(8)  Place  of  birth;  state  or  foreign  country. 

(9)  Name  of  father. 

(10)  Birthplace  of  father;  state  or  foreign  country. 

(11)  Maiden  name  of  mother. 

(12)  Birthplace  of  mother;  state  or  foreign  country. 

(13)  Occupation;   the   occupation   to   be   reported   of   any 
person  who  had  any  remunerative  employment— women  as 
well  as  men. 

(14)  Signature  and  address  of  informant. 

(15)  Date  of  death,  including  the  year,  month,  and  day. 

(16)  Statement  of  medical  attendance  on  decedent,  fact 
and  time  of  death,  including  the  time  last  seen  alive. 

(17)  Cause  of  death,  including  the  primary  and  immediate 
causes,   and   contributory  causes   or  complications,   if  any, 
and  the  duration  of  each. 

(18)  Signature  and  address  of  physician  or  official  making 
the  medical  certificate. 

(19)  Special  information  concerning  deaths  in  hospitals 
and   institutions   and   of   persons   dying   away   from   home, 
including  the  former  or  usual  residence,  length  of  time  at 
place  of  death,  and  place  where  the  disease  was  contracted. 

(20)  Place  of  burial  or  removal. 

(21)  Date  of  burial  or  removal. 

(22)  Signature  and  address  of  undertaker. 

(23)  Official  signature  of  registrar  with  date  when  cer- 
tificate was  filed  and  registered  number. 

The  certificate  shall  be  written  legibly  in  permanent  black  How  made 
ink,  typewritten  or  printed,  and  no  certificate  shall  be  held  out- 
to  be  complete  and  correct  that  does  not  supply  all  of  the 
items  of  information  specified  above  or  satisfactorily  account 
for  the  omission  of  any  of  said  items. 


—  10 


Authenti- 
cation qf. 


Under- 
taker to 
sign. 

Medical 
certificate, 
by  whom 
signed. 


Contents 
of  cer- 
tificate. 


Cause  of 
death 
carefully 
defined. 


In  case 
death 
occurs 
without 
medical  at- 
tendance. 

Duty  of  un- 
dertaker. 

Duty  of 
coroner. 

Duty 

loca 

registrar. 


Under- 
taker re- 
sponsible 
for  cer- 
tificate of 
death. 

Duty  of  un- 
dertaker. 


The  personal  and  statistical  particulars  (items  1  to  13)  or 
such  other  items  as  shall  be  required  by  the  state  registrar 
shall  be  authenticated  by  the  signature  of  the  informant, 
who  may  be  any  competent  person  acquainted  with  the 
facts. 

The  statement  of  facts  relating  to  the  disposition  of  the 
body  shall  be  signed  by  the  undertaker  or  person  acting  as 
such.  The  medical  certificate  shall  be  made  and  signed  by 
the  physician,  if  any,  last  in  attendance  on  the  deceased,  who 
shall  specify  the  time  in  attendance,  the  time  he  last  saw 
the  deceased  alive,  and  the  hour  of  the  day  at  which  death 
occurred.  He  shall  further  state  the  cause  of  death  so  as 
to  show  the  course  of  disease  or  sequence  of  causes  result- 
ing in  death,  giving  the  primary  and  immediate  causes, 
and  contributing  causes,  if  any,  and  the  duration  of  each. 
Indefinite  and  unsatisfactory  terms  indicating  only  symp- 
toms of  disease  or  conditions  resulting  from  disease  will 
not  be  held  sufficient  for  issuing  a  burial  or  removal 
permit,  and  any  certificate  .containing  only  such  terms,  as 
defined  by  the  state  registrar,  shall  be  returned  to  the 
physician  for  correction  or  definition.  Causes  of  death 
which  may  be  the  result  of  either  disease  or  violence  shall 
be  carefully  defined;  and,  if  from  violence,  its  nature 
shall  be  stated,  and  whether  accidental,  suicidal  or  homi- 
cidal. For  cause  of  deaths  in  hospitals,  institutions,  or  away 
from  home,  the  physician  shall  furnish  the  information 
required  under  this  head,  and  shall  state  where,  in  his 
opinion,  the  disease  was  contracted.  The  cause  of  death 
and  all  other  facts  required  shall  in  all  cases  be  stated  in 
accordance  with  the  instructions  and  directions  of  the  state 
registrar. 

SEC.  7.  In  case  of  any  death  occurring  without  medical 
attendance,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  undertaker  to  notify 
the  registrar  of  such  death,  and  when  so  notified  the  regis- 
trar shall  refer  the  case  to  the  coroner  for  his  investigation 
and  certification,  and  the  coroner  shall  within  three  days 
after  the  inquest  furnish  the  local  registrar  where  such 
death  occurs  a  certificate  in  form  and  substance  as  required 
by  the  state  registrar  and  containing  as  many  of  the  facts 
required  by  this  act  as  can  be  ascertained.  Said  local  regis- 
trar shall  then  forthwith  transmit  such  certificate  to  the 
state  registrar,  retaining  a  copy  thereof  on  file  in  his  office. 

SEC.  8.  The  undertaker,  or  person  acting  as  undertaker, 
shall  be  responsible  for  obtaining  and  filing  the  certifi- 
cate of  death  with  the  registrar  and  securing  a  burial  or 
removal  permit  prior  to  any  disposition  of  the  body.  He 
shall  obtain  the  personal  and  statistical  particulars  required 
from  the  person  best  qualified  to  supply  them  over  the  signa- 
ture and  address  of  his  informant.  He  shall  then  present 
the  certificate  to  the  attending  physician,  if  any,  or  to  the 
health  officer  or  coroner,  as  directed  by  the  registrar,  for 
the  medical  certificate  of  the  cause  of  death  and  other  par- 


—  11  — 

ticulars  necessary  to  complete  the  record,  as  specified  in  the 
preceding  section.  And  he  shall  then  state  the  facts  required 
relative  to  the  date  and  place  of  burial  over  his  signature 
and  with  his  address,  and  present  the  completed  certificate 
to  the  registrar  within  the  time  limit,  if  any,  designated  by 
the  local  board  of  health  for  the  issuance  of  a  burial  or 
removal  permit.  The  undertaker  shall  deliver  the  burial 
permit  to  the  sexton  or  person  in  charge  of  the  premises 
before  interring  the  body,  or  attach  it  to  the  box  containing 
the  corpse,  when  shipped  by  any  transportation  company, 
to  accompany  same  to  destination,  when  it  shall  be  accepted 
by  the  sexton  as  authority  for.  the  interment  of  the  body. 

SEC.  9.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  local  registrar  to  sup- 
ply  blank  forms  of  certificates  to  such  persons  as  require  supply 
them.    He  shall  carefully  examine  each  certificate  when  pre-  ] 
sented  for  record  to  see  that  it  has  been  made  out  in  accord-  Duty  of 
ance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  the  instructions  of  r°gtstrar. 
the  state  registrar,  and  if  any  certificate  is  incomplete  or 
unsatisfactory  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  call  attention  to  the 
defects  in  the  return  and  to  withhold  issuing  the  burial  or 
removal  permit  until  they  are   corrected.     He   shall   then 
number  them  in  consecutive  order,  beginning  with  number 
one  for  the  first  death  in  each  calendar  year,  and  sign  his 
name  as  registrar  in  attest  of  the  date  of  filing  in  his  office. 
If  the  certificate  is  properly  executed  and  complete,  he  shall 
then  issue  a  burial  or  removal  permit  to  the  undertaker: 
provided,  that  in  case  the  death  occurred  from  some  disease  incase  of 
that  is  held  by  the  state  board  of  health  to  be  infectious,  coSta-fr° 
contagious,  or  communicable  and  dangerous  to  the  public  gious,  etc. 
health,  no  permit  for  the  removal  or  other  disposition  of 
the  body  shall  be  granted  by  the  registrar  except  under  such 
conditions  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  state  and  local  boards 
of  health.    He  shall  also  make  a  complete  and  accurate  copy 
of  each  certificate  registered  by  him,  upon  a  form  identical 
with  the  original  certificate,  to  be  filed  and  permanently 
preserved  in  his  office  as  the  local  record  of  such  death,  in 
such  manner  as  directed  by  the  state  registrar.     He  shall, 
on  or  before  the  eighth  day  of  each  month,  transmit  to  the 
state   registrar   all   original   certificates   registered   by  him 
during  the  preceding  month.    If  no  deaths  occurred  in  any 
month  he  shall,  on  or  before  the  eighth  day  of  the  following 
month,  report  that  fact  to  the  state  registrar  in  such  manner 
as  the  state  registrar  shall  direct. 

SEC.  10.  If  the  interment,  or  other  disposition  of  the  body  "enufe 
is  to  be  made  in  the  registration  district  in  which  the  death  made  in 
occurred,  the  wording  of  the  burial  permit  may  be  limited  which*1 
to  a  statement  by  the  registrar,  and  over  his  signature, 
that  a  satisfactory  certificate  of  death  having  been  filed 
with  him  as  required  by  law,  permission  is  granted  to  inter, 
remove,  or  otherwise  dispose  of  the  body  of  the  deceased, 
stating  the  name,  age,  sex  and  cause  of  death  and  other  neces- 
sary details  upon  the  form  prescribed  by  the  state  registrar. 


—  12 


Duty  of 
sexton  or 
other  per- 
son in 
charge 
of  burial 
ground. 


State  regis- 
trar to  pre- 
pare blank 
forms 
for  all 
registrars. 


No  other 
forms  of 
blanks  to 
be  used. 


Informa- 
tion to  be 
furnished 
local  reg- 
istrar, 
by  whom. 


Index  of 
deaths. 


Deposi- 
tion taken, 
when. 


In  case  the  interment,  or  other  disposition  of  the  body,  is 
to  be  made  in  some  registration  district  other  than  that  in 
which  the  death  occurred,  a  complete  copy  of  the  certificate 
of  death  shall  be  attached  to  and  made  a  part  of  the  permit. 

SEC.  11.  No  sexton  or  person  in  charge  of  any  premises  in 
which  interments  are  made  shall  inter  or  permit  the  interment 
of  any  body  unless  it  is  accompanied  by  a  burial,  removal, 
or  transit  permit  as  herein  provided.  Each  sexton  or  person 
in  charge  of  any  burial  ground  shall  indorse  upon  the  permit 
the  date  of  interment,  over  his  signature,  and  shall  return 
all  permits,  so  indorsed,  to  the  local  registrar  of  his  district 
within  one  day  from  the  date  of  interment.  He  shall  also 
keep  a  record  of  all  interments  made  in  the  premises  under 
his  charge,  stating  the  name  of  the  deceased  person,  place 
of  death,  date  of  burial,  and  name  and  address  of  the  under- 
taker, which  record  shall  at  all  times  be  open  to  public 
inspection. 

SEC.  12.  The  state  registrar  shall  prepare  a  sample  form 
and  blank  for  all  registrars  for  use  in  registering,  recording 
and  preserving  the  returns  or  in  otherwise  carrying  out  the 
purposes  of  this  act,  and  shall  prepare  and  issue  such  detailed 
instructions  as  may  be  required  to  secure  the  uniform  observ- 
ance of  its  provisions  and  the  maintenance  of  a  perfect 
system  of  registration.  No  other  forms  of  blanks  shall  be 
used  than  those  prescribed  by  the  state  registrar.  He  shall 
carefully  examine  the  certificates  received  monthly  from  the 
local  registrars,  and  if  any  such  are  incomplete  or  unsatis- 
factory he  shall  require  such  further  information  to  be  fur- 
nished as  may  be  necessary  to  make  the  record  satisfactory. 
All  physicians,  informants,  or  undertakers  connected  with 
the  case,  and  all  other  persons  having  knowledge  of  the  facts, 
are  hereby  required  to  furnish  such  information  as  they 
may  possess  regarding  any  death,  upon  demand  of  the  state 
registrar,  in  person,  by  mail,  or  through  the  local  registrar. 
He  shall  further  arrange,  bind  and  permanently  preserve  the 
certificates  in  a  systematic  manner,  and  shall  prepare  and 
maintain  a  comprehensive  index  of  all  deaths  registered, 
showing  the  name  of  deceased,  place  and  date  of  death, 
number  of  certificate,  and  the  volume  in  which  it  is  con- 
tained. He  shall  inform  all  registrars  what  diseases  are  to 
be  considered  as  infectious,  contagious,  or  communicable, 
and  dangerous  to  the  public  health,  as  decided  by  the  state 
board  of  health,  in  order  that  when  deaths  occur  from  such 
diseases  proper  precautions  may  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
spreading  of  dangerous  diseases,  and  all  rules  and  regula- 
tions made  by  him  for  carrying  out  and  enforcing  the  pur- 
poses of  this  act  shall,  when  promulgated,  have  the  same 
force  and  effect  as  if  enacted  by  law. 

SEC.  13.  Whenever  it  may  be  alleged  that  the  facts  are 
not  correctly  stated  in  any  certificate  of  death  theretofore 
registered,  the  local  registrar  shall  require  a  deposition  under 
oath  to  be  made  by  the  person  asserting  the  fact,  to  be  sup- 


—  13  — 

ported  by  the  depositions  of  two  or  more  credible  persons  ^e  riotacts 
having  knowledge  of  the  facts,  setting  forth  the  changes  correctly 
necessary  to  make  the  record  correct.    Having  received  such 
depositions,  he  shall  file  them  and  shall  then  draw  a  line 
through  the  incorrect  statement  or  statements  in  the  certifi-  tions. 
cate,  without  erasing  them,  and  make  the  necessary  correc- 
tions, noting  on  the  margin  of  the  certificate  his  authority  correc- 
for  so  doing,  and  transmit  the  deposition,  attached  to  the  certffiJate, 
original  certificate,  when  making  his  regular  monthly  returns  how  made- 
to  the  state  registrar.    If  the  correction  relates  to  a  certifi- 
cate   previously   returned   to    the    state   registrar,    he    shall 
transmit  the  deposition  forthwith  to  the  state  registrar.     If 
the  correction  is  first  made  upon  the  original  certificate  on 
file  in  the  state  bureau  of  vital  statistics,  the  state  registrar 
shall   transmit    a    certified    copy   of   the   original    certificate, 
corrected  as  above,  to  the  local  registrar,  who  shall  there- 
upon  substitute   such   certified   copy   for   the   copy   of   the 
certificate  in  his  records.    All  such  corrections  and  marginal 
notes  referring  to  them  shall  be  legibly  written  in  ink,  type- 
written or  printed. 

SEC.  14.  Each  local  registrar  shall  be  entitled  to  be  paid  Feeonocai 
the  sum  of  not  exceeding  twenty-five  cents  for  each  death 
certificate  properly  and  completely  made  out  and  registered 
with  him,  and  by  him  returned  to  the  state  registrar  on  or 
before  the  eighth  day  of  the  following  month,  which  sum 
shall  cover  and  include  the  making  out  of  the  burial  permit 
and  the  copy  of  the  certificate  to  be  filed  and  preserved  in 
his  office.  And  in  case  no  deaths  were  registered  during  any 
month,  the  local  registrar  shall  be  entitled  to  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty-five  cents  for  each  report  to  that  effect, 
promptly  made  in  accordance  with  the  directions  of  the  state 
registrar:  provided,  however,  that  all  such  compensation  for 
such  services  shall  be  fixed  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  compensa- 
city  council,  or  other  governing  body  of  such  local  registra-  iocai°f 
tion  district.  All  amounts  payable  to  registrars  under  the  ^^Jxed 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  paid  by  the  treasurer  or  other 
lawful  officer,  out  of  the  funds  of  each  registration  district, 
upon  warrants  drawn  by  the  local  auditor  or  other  proper 
local  officer  of  such  district,  which  warrants  shall  specify 
the  number  of  certificates  properly  registered  and  reports 
promptly  returned  where  no  deaths  are  registered,  with 
the  amount  due  for  each:  provided,  however,  that  no  war- 
rant shall  be  issued  to  any  local  registrar,  or,  if  issued,  shall 
be  paid  where  notice  is  previously  given  by  the  state  regis-  • 
trar  to  the  auditor,  treasurer  or  other  proper  officer  of  such 
registration  district  that  the  local  registrar  has  failed  to 
comply  with  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  state  bureau 
of  vital  statistics  and  the  instructions  of  the  state  registrar. 

SEC.  15.     The  state  registrar  shall,  upon  receipt,  furnish  state  regis- 
any  applicant  a  certified  copy  of  the  record  of  any  death  {JJ^gii 
registered  under  provisions  of  this  act,  for  the  making  and  certified 
certification  of  which  he  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  fifty 


14  — 


Fee  for  cer- 
tified gopy. 


Fee  for 
search  of 
records. 


Physicians 
and  under- 
takers to 
register 
with  local 
registrars. 


Rules 
furnished 
by  local 
registrars. 


Neglect  of 
attending 
physician; 
penalty. 


Neglect 
of  under- 
taker, etc. 
penalty. 


Neglect  of 
registrars; 
penalty. 


Violation 
of  this  act; 
penalty. 

Viola- 
tion by 
common 
carrier ; 
penalty. 


cents,  to  be  paid  by  the  applicant.  And  any  such  copy  of 
the  record  of  a  death,  when  properly  certified  by  the  state 
registrar  to  be  a  true  copy  thereof,  shall  be  prima  facie  evi- 
dence in  all  courts  and  places  of  the  facts  therein  stated. 
For  any  search  of  the  files  and  records,  when  no  certified 
copy  is  made,  the  state  registrar  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of 
fifty  cents  for  each  hour  or  fractional  hour  of  time  of  search 
to  be  paid  by  the  applicant.  And  the  state  registrar  shall 
keep  a  true  and  correct  account  of  all  fees  by  him  received 
under  these  provisions,  and  turn  the  same  over  to  the  state 
treasurer. 

SEC.  16.  Every  physician  and  undertaker,  residing  in,  at 
the  date  of  this  act  or  thereafter  establishing  a  residence  in, 
any  registration  district,  shall  forthwith  register  his  or  her 
name,  address,  and  occupation,  with  the  local  registrar  of 
the  district  in  which  he  or  she  resides,  and  they  shall  there- 
upon be  furnished  by  the  registrar  a  copy  of  this  act  and 
such  rules,  regulations,  and  instructions  as  may  be  prepared 
by  the  state  registrar  with  relation  to  their  duties  under  this 
act. 

SEC.  17.  If  any  physician  who  was  in  medical  attendance 
upon  any  deceased  person  at  the  time  of  death  shall  neglect 
or  refuse  to  make  out  and  deliver  to  the  undertaker,  sexton, 
or  other  person  in  charge  of  the  interment,  removal,  or 
other  disposition  of  the  body,  upon  request,  the  medical 
certificate  of  cause  of  death  hereinbefore  provided  for,  or 
shall  willfully  or  knowingly  make  a  false  certification  of 
the  cause  of  death  in  any  case,  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor.  If  any  undertaker,  sexton,  or  other  person 
acting  as  undertaker  shall  inter,  remove,  or  otherwise  dis- 
pose of  the  body  of  any  deceased  person  without  having 
received  a  burial  or  removal  permit  as  herein  provided,  he 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  Any  registrar, 
deputy  registrar  or  subregistrar  who  shall  neglect  or  fail 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act  in  his  district,  or  shall 
neglect  or  refuse  to  perform  any  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
him  by  this  act  or  by  the  instructions  and  directions  of  the 
state  registrar,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 
And  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  violate  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  or  shall  willfully  neglect  or  refuse  to 
perform  any  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  the  provisions  oi 
this  act,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  Any 
transportation  company  or  common  carrier  transporting 
or  carrying,  or  accepting  through  its  agents  or  employes  for 
transportation  or  carriage,  the  body  of  any  deceased  person 
without  an  accompanying  permit,  issued  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  fifty  nor  more  than  two  hundred  dollars. 


—  15  --,.-.;-     -    '  '  '  *-  - 

SEC.  18.  Local  registrars  are  hereby  charged  with  the 
strict  and  thorough  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act  in  their  districts  under  the  supervision  and  direction  of  Enforce- 
the  state  registrar.  They  shall  make  an  immediate  report  to  Sf^V. 
the  state  registrar  of  any  violations  of  this  law  coming  to 
their  notice  by  observation  or  upon  complaint  of  any  person 
or  otherwise.  The  state  registrar  shall  have  authority  to 
investigate  cases  of  irregularity  or  violation  of  law,  person- 
ally or  by  accredited  representative,  and  all  registrars  shall 
aid  him,  upon  request,  in  such  investigations.  When  he  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  he  shall  report  cases  of  violation  of  any 
of  the  provisions  of  this  act  to  the  prosecuting  attorney  or 
other  proper  officer  of  the  county  or  municipality,  with  a 
statement  of  the  facts  and  circumstances,  and  when  any 
such  case  is  reported  to  them  by  the  state  registrar  all  prose- 
cuting attorneys  or  officials  acting  in  such  capacity  shall 
forthwith  initiate  and  promptly  follow  up  the  necessary 
court  proceedings  against  the  parties  responsible  for  the 
alleged  violations  of  law. 

SEC.  19.     All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  in  conflict  or  incon- 
sistent with  the  provisions  of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

STATUTES  1905,  CHAPTER  CCCXLVL— An  act  to  amend 
Chapter  I  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the 
organization,  incorporation  and  government  of  municipal 
corporations/'  approved  March  13,  1883,  and  acts  amend- 
atory thereof,  by  adding  a  new  section  thereto,  to  be  num- 
bered section  9,  relating  to  the  powers  and  duties  -of  city 
clerks  and  city  recorders,  respecting^  the  registration  of] 
deaths  and  the  issuance  and  registration  of  burial  and  dis- 
interment  permits. 

[Approved  March  20,  1905.] 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate 
and  assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

SECTION  1.     Chapter  I  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  pro-  Municipal 
vide  for  the   organization,  incorporation  and  government  of  tSms.ra 
municipal  corporations"  approved  March  13,  1883,  and  acts 
amendatory  thereof,  is  hereby  amended  by  adding  a  new  sec- 
tion thereto,  to  be  numbered  section  9  thereof,  to  read  as 
follows : 

Section  9.     The  city  clerk  of  each  municipal   corporation  citycierk 
end  the  city  recorder  of  each  municipal  corporation  where  recorder, 
there  is  no  city  clerk  shall  have  the  powers  and  shall  perform 
the  duties  of  a  registrar  within  such  municipality  which  are 
prescribed  and  required  by  the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled,  deaths,etc. 
"An  act  for  the  registration  of  deaths,  the  issuance  and  reg- 
istration of  burial  and  disinterment  permits,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  registration  districts  in  counties,  cities  and  counties, 
cities,  and  incorporated  towns,  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  state  bureau  of  vital  statistics  and  prescribing  the  powers 


—  16  — 

and  duties  of  registrars,  coroners,  physicians,  undertakers, 
sextons  and  other  persons  in  relation  to  such  registration  and 
fixing  penalties  for  the  violation  of  this  act." 

SEC.  2.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  in  conflict  or  inconsist- 
ent with  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

SEC.  3.     This  act  shall  take  effect  March  31st,  1905. 


PENAL  CODE. 


Part  I — Of  Crimes  and  Punishments. 


TITLE  X-OF  CRIMES  AGAINST  THE  PUBLIC  HEALTH  AND 

SAFETY. 

§  377.     Willful  violation  of  registration  and  health  laws. 


violation  §  ^^  -  Every  person  who  is  charged  with  a  duty  relat- 
tratfon5  "^  ^°  ^e  registration  of  deaths,  under  chapter  three,  title 
andSeaith  seven,  of  the  act  to  establish  a  Political  Code,  approved 
laws.  March  twelfth,  1872,  and  amended  March  18  and  20,  1905 
(Stats.  1905,  Chs.  CX,  CXIX  and  CCCXLVI),  who- 

1.  Willfully  fails  to  keep  a  registry  of  the  name,  age,  resi- 
dence, and  time  of  death  of  a  decedent;  or, 

2.  Willfully  fails  to   register  with  the   county  recorder  a 
certified  copy  of  such  register,   as  is  provided   for  in  said 
chapter;  or, 

3.  Willfully  inters,  cremates,  or  otherwise  disposes  of  any 
human  body,  in  any  city,  county,  or  city  and  county,  with- 
out having  first  obtained  a  permit,  as  provided  for  in  said 
chapter;  or, 

4.  Willfully  grants  a  permit  for  the  interment,  cremation, 
or  disposition  of  a  dead  human  body,  without  the  certificate 
provided  for  in  said  chapter;  or, 

5.  Willfully  violates  any  of  the  laws  of  this  state  relating 
to  the  preservation  of  the  public  health  ; 

Is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  is,  unless  a  different  pun- 
ishment for  such  violation  is  prescribed  by  this  code,  punish- 
able by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  by  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by 
both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 


HA  3*8 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


